It was a snip that took less than a second, yet marked the end of a 10-year project.

This morning, Tooele City council members cut the ceremonial red ribbon to open 1000 North from Main Street to 600 West. The two-lane road is expected to be a major artery servicing the city’s growing northern commercial district.

“It has been along time coming but it is now complete,” said Tooele City Mayor Patrick Dunlavy.

The extension of 1000 North dates back over 10 years to when Charlie Roberts was Tooele’s mayor and the city constructed the underpass west of Main Street for the railroad, according to Mike Johnson, Tooele City Council member.

The road underwent several delays, including two environmental impact studies and final approval of the road plans by the state, according to Cary Campbell, director of community development and public works for Tooele City.

Dunlavy said the road will accomplish several major objectives.

“First, it provides an east-west corridor in the north end of the city, and it also allows access to the property off of Main Street behind Wendy’s and the Quality Automotive Group,” he said. “This property is zoned for retail use and one property owner already has preliminary plans for development. 1000 North will also provide access to the Utah Industrial Depot, taking a lot of the large-truck traffic off of Utah Avenue.”

The road was built for $3 million by Harper Construction of Salt Lake City.

The Utah Department of Transportation and Tooele City have worked out an agreement so that UDOT will assume the maintenance responsibility for 1000 North and in exchange will give Utah Avenue to the city, according to Dunlavy. Utah Avenue, which was previously maintained by UDOT, will now be maintained by Tooele City.

The second phase of 1000 North is already under construction, thanks to federal stimulus money, according to Dunlavy. That phase will extend the road from 600 West to the Industrial Loop Road intersection on SR-112.

The contract to build the second phase has been awarded to Kilgore Paving of Salt Lake City.

The city anticipates completion of the second phase by the end of October, depending on weather, according to Paul Hansen, contract engineer for Tooele City.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com